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The  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
OF  THE  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


Telling  Figures  of  Last  Year 

April  1,  1923 — March  31,  1924 


Obligations  Paid — No  Deficit 
Half  a  Million  Dollars  for  Property 

Obligations  for  the  regular  work  of 

the  year . $4,048,201.69 

Accumulated  deficit .  657,187.57 

Total  to  be  secured .  . $4,705,389.26 

This  meant  the  securing  of  an  income  about 
one-third  greater  than  that  of  the  previous  year, 
or  more  than  $  1 ,000,000  increase.  This  seemed 
impossible,  and  retrenchment  inevitable,  when, 
by  February  1st,  receipts  had  come  in  but 
slowly.  A  cable  was  therefore  sent  to  each 
Mission  early  in  February,  ordering  a  cut  of 
20%,  not  on  missionary  salaries,  but  on  the 
native  work  for  the  first  three  months  of  1924- 
25,  that  is,  April,  May  and  June.  By  this  time, 
however,  the  Church  was  waking  to  the  serious¬ 
ness  of  the  situation,  and  the  last  two  months 
of  the  fiscal  year  witnessed  an  almost  unprece¬ 
dented  volume  of  gifts,  so  that  when  the  books 
were  closed,  these  telling  figures  revealed  what 
had  happened: 

Donations  from  Churches,  Sunday 
Schools,  Women's  and  Young 
People's  Societies,  Individuals 
and  Legacies: 

For  the  regular  work  of  the  year  $4,015,652.70 
Specially  designated  for  the 

deficit .  462,027.59 

$4,477,680.29 


Other  credits,  including  income 
from  invested  funds.  Mission  field 
savings  and  receipts,  exchange 
and  adjustments . $  199,011.08 


Total  for  regular  work  and  deficit .  .  $4,676,69  1 .37 
Special  gifts  during  the  year  for 

property,  etc . $  512,738.22 

Total  receipts  for  the  year . $5,189,429.59 


Deducting  the  total  receipts  for  regular  work  and 
deficit  $4,676,691.3  7  from  the  obligations  for  the  year, 
$4,705,389.26,  the  deficit  was  reduced  to  $28,697.89. 
Since  the  books  closed  enough  money  has  been  re¬ 
ceived  to  cancel  this  deficit. 


The  Deficit  Money 
Where  It  Came  From 

The  gifts  did  not  consist  of  a  few  large  sums. 
The  largest  single  gift  was  $25,000.  There 
were  about  a  dozen  contributions  of  $5,000  or 
more  each.  Nearly  2,000  individuals,  of  whom 
the  Board  has  record,  including  missionaries. 
Board  members,  officers  and  clerks,  designated 
money  for  the  deficit.  Many  thousands  more 
gave  through  their  Churches.  In  172  Presby¬ 
teries,  scores  of  Churches  contributed  a  total  of 
over  $200,000  for  the  deficit,  while  many  other 
Churches  sent  extra  amounts  undesignated. 
Women  and  Young  People  gave  through  their 
organizations  for  the  deficit  more  than  $100,- 
000.  It  is  thus  evident  that  the  giving  for  this 
fund  was  widespread  and  in  direct  response  to 
a  recognized,  critical  need. 

What  These  Figures  Tell 

Prayer 

“1  feel  that  the  deficit  will  be  cleared  because  so 
many  are  praying  for  it.  I  am  enclosing  my  little 
gift.” 

Interest  in  the  work 

"To  be  used  by  the  Board  in  making  up  the  de¬ 
ficiency,  so  that  our  foreign  workers  will  not  be 
hampered  in  the  Master’s  work.” 

Sacrifice 

“1  am  a  woman  of  seventy-two,  with  an  income 
of  about  twenty  dollars  per  month,  so  I  must  do 
without  something  to  give  even  fifteen  dollars,  but 
1  enclose  my  check  for  that  amount.” 

Loyalty 

"We  are  sending  this  with  our  prayers.  We  be¬ 
lieve  in  our  missionaries  with  all  our  hearts.  We 
trust  that  our  great  Church  shall  not  fail  those 
who  are  fighting  the  battles  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  in  far  lands.” 


Telling  Figures  From  Our  Mission  Fields 

1,600  Missionaries  159  Stations 

8,960  Native  Workers  2,911  Out-stations 

5,777  Churches  and  Other  Groups  of  Christians 
2  1  0,325  Church  Members  4,528  Sunday  Schools 
129,675  In  Training  for  347,087  Pupils 

Membership 

19,693  Persons  United  With  the  Church  Last  Year 
2,711  Schools  7  Printing  Plants 

121,179  Pupils  122,043,371  Pages 

Printed  last  year. 

85  Hospitals  41,731  In-patients 

1  1  6  Dispensaries  371,917  Out-patients 

The  peoples  for  whom  the  missionaries  are  working 
provided,  in  gifts  and  fees,  for  salaries  of  native  work¬ 
ers,  church  support,  home  and  foreign  missions,  build¬ 
ings,  and  especially  for  educational  and  medical  work, 
etc.,  the  magnificent  sum  of  $2,264,633. 


Telling  Figures  of  This  Year 

April  1,  1924 'March  31,  1925 

Needs  for  the  Year 
The  Regular  Work 
The  Foreign  Board’s  share  of  the  total 
apportioned  budget  of  $15,000,000  for 
all  benevolences,  as  approved  by  the  Gen¬ 
eral  Council,  if  received,  would  be  $5,283,- 
840.  Adding  the  normal  amount  from 
legacies,  $125,000,  and  the  estimated  in¬ 
come  on  investments,  etc.,  $130,000,  the 
total  income  of  the  Board  would  be 
$5,538,840.  Judging  by  receipts  of  the 
past  few  years,  the  Board  did  not  feel  war¬ 
ranted  in  appropriating  this  entire  amount 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  It  guaran¬ 
teed,  however,  appropriations  of  $4,060,- 
282,  which  are  about  the  same  as  the 
appropriations  for  regular  work  last  year. 
There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  this 
sum  should  be  realized. 

The  Board  decided  that  the  cut  of  20% 
on  native  work  should  be  effective  only 
for  the  first  three  months,  until  June  30th, 
the  work  having  been  already  adjusted 
to  this. 

Other  Needs 

The  difference  between  the  appropria¬ 
tions  for  regular  work,  $4,060,282,  and 
the  total  hoped-for  income  of  $5,538,840, 
or  $1,478,558,  if  received,  will  be  subject 
to  special  appropriation  for  new  mission¬ 
aries,  war  losses  of  missionaries  in  Persia, 
work  in  Europe,  property,  equipment  and 
other  approved  needs.  The  property  items 
include  repairs,  construction  and  equip¬ 
ment  of  buildings,  such  as  residences, 
schools,  hospitals,  etc.,  completing  in  many 
cases  building  and  equipment  funds  for 
which  some  money  has  been  received. 
The  Missions  are  in  desperate  need  of 
these  items. 

Strengthening  the  Stakes 
The  chief  purpose  of  the  Board  this  year 
is  not  great  expansion,  alluring  as  are  some 
of  the  opportunities  before  our  mission¬ 
aries,  but  rather  the  strengthening  of  the 
work  already  in  hand,  by  providing  more 
adequate  equipment,  and  by  laying  on  the 
national  churches  such  an  increased  finan¬ 
cial  share  of  the  work  as  they  are  able  to 
assume. 


